Monday, July 27, 2015

I never thought I would say this, but I love my Kindle. It's
portable, the font is adjustable, and it's lightweight--which means it doesn't
hurt when it falls on my face while I'm reading in bed (this happens more often
than I care to admit). But I still love traditional books too. There's nothing
like the feel of turning real paper pages as I make my through whatever mystery
I'm reading at the moment. Of course, paper books also have the advantage of
requiring bookmarks--and I like coming up with new DIY bookmark ideas.

These ribbon-and-charm bookmarks are super simple to make
from supplies you probably already have on hand--ribbon and pieces of broken
jewelry. You'll also need a few basic jewelry-making supplies: ribbon clamps,
jump rings, and needle-nose and nylon-nose pliers.

First, look for pieces of old or broken jewelry that can be
used as charms. The bug I used is from a hair clip; the pink flower was once
part of a child's necklace. Use the needle-nose pliers and jump rings to attach
the charms to the ribbon clamps. (Make sure the clamps match the width of the ribbon
you'll be using.)

Next, cut a piece of ribbon that's twice the desired length
of the finished bookmark. Fold the ribbon in half and trim the cut edges so they're
nice and even. Hold the two edges together and slide a ribbon clamp over them.
Use the nylon-nose pliers to crimp the ribbon clamp in place. Make sure it
holds both pieces of ribbon securely.

If you like, you can iron the bookmark to flatten the fold.
Otherwise your charming bookmark is finished. Happy reading!

Monday, July 20, 2015

I don't know about you, but these colors--and these
stripes--make me think of the beach. I can almost feel the sun and hear the
waves even though I'm landlocked here in Pennsylvania.

This project is obviously super simple, and it requires just
four colors of DMC floss: turquoise, light topaz, light blue green, and dark
straw. You can follow the chart and color key below or click here to download
and print a copy of the pattern. The pin setting I used is from the Etsy shop
Kailea. (My pin was stitched on 18-count Aida for my pin, and it fits perfectly
in a 1 1/2-inch square setting.)

Monday, July 13, 2015

Who doesn't love sequins? They're colorful and sparkly--and a
little magical. I used blue paillettes--which are really just big, flat
sequins--and blue embroidery floss to make this pretty necklace. It's shimmery
and frothy, and I think it looks like something that could have watched up on an
enchanted beach.

This necklace is one of my "use what you have"
projects. The paillettes are from leftover scraps of trim. I had skeins of old embroidery
floss in different shades of blue, so I just wound them all together to make a
ball of crochet thread. The only skills you need for this project are chain
stitch and a bit of patience. I used a tiny No. 10 steel crochet hook, which fit through the holes on the paillettes, and just stitched until I ran out
of paillettes and floss. Instead of counting stitches, which would have driven
me crazy, I used measurements when I made the necklace.

To begin, I made a short length of chain stitch and added my
first paillette. (Don't be intimidated; you just push through hook through the
hole in the paillette, pull the thread through hole, and then continue chain
stitching.) I then continued crocheting and placed paillettes randomly, but
fairly evenly spaced, as I worked.

When the chain was about 28 inches long, I fastened it to
the starting stitch with slip stitch. I made two more slip stitches and went
back to chain stitch. To give the necklace a layered look, I varied the lengths
of the strands from about 28 inches to 32 inches. I also made several strands
without paillettes. Each time I reached the starting point, I slip-stitched in
the three existing slip stitches and returned to chain stitch. When I got to
the end of my ball of floss, I finished with three slip stitches, cut the
floss, and wove the end into the chain stitches.

I love this project because it's so simple and adaptable. If
you're not an embroidery floss hoarder like me, you can use crochet thread or pearl
cotton. And if you don't have leftover paillette trim on hand, you can find
bags of flat sequins in all sizes and colors and crafts stores and fabric
shops.

Monday, July 6, 2015

I love eating watermelon--the juicier and messier, the
better. But I also love the look of watermelons. They're so fresh, bright, and
summery. I think this felt watermelon basket looks as cheery as the real thing.
You can use your basket to hold the felt watermelon coasters shown in the photo
(I featured them last July on my blog; click here for the link). Or you can
fill your basket with cocktail napkins, wrapped candies, or other summer party
necessities.

For each watermelon basket you'll need: 1 sheet each of red and
green felt, scraps of green rickrack, black seed beads, and green, red, white,
and black embroidery floss. (I like to use a double strand of floss instead of
sewing thread because it has a nice sheen.)

To make the outside of the basket, cut a 4 1/2" circle
from red felt, a 6" circle from green felt, and an 8 1/2" by 1
1/2" strip from green felt. Cut the red and green circles in half. Use
black embroidery floss to sew large black seed beads randomly on the red
half-circles. Pin a red half-circle to each green half-circle, aligning the
straight edges. Use white embroidery floss to whipstitch the red pieces to the
green pieces. Stitch only along the curved edges of the red half-circles.

Cut eight 1 1/2" pieces of green rickrack and pin
them--horizontally and evenly spaced--to the green felt strip. Use green
embroidery floss to sew the rickrack in place. Now pin the felt strip to one of
the finished watermelon pieces along the curved edge with wrong sides facing.
Sew the pieces together 1/4" from the edge with green floss. Attach the
other watermelon piece to the strip in the same way. That's it! Just turn the
basket right side out.

For the basket lining, cut a 6" circle from red felt
and an 8 1/2" by 1 1/4" strip from green felt. Pin the felt strip to
the curved edge of one red half-circle and sew the pieces together 1/4"
from the edge. Attach the other half circle to the strip the same way. When
you're finished, don't turn the lining right side out.

To assemble your watermelon, slip the lining inside the outer
basket. (If you left the lining wrong side out, the seams shouldn't be
showing.) Pin the basket and the lining together along the top edges, and then
sew them together with matching embroidery floss. I used whipstitch, but you
can also use blanket stitch or running stitch.

If you want to make a large basket--maybe one that can hold
paper plates--just adjust the size of the patterns. Happy Summer!